This is painful....
Lee said the following:
"The head of NASA needs to begin acting like the head and taking some initiative of his own."
Who appoints the administrator of NASA? The President. Who doesn't give a damn about the Space Program? The President(s) [Last and only one who cared was Lyndon B. Johnson]. Who confirms the administrator? The Congress. Who also doesn't give a damn about the Space Program? The Congress.
The administrator of NASA facilitates the will of the President and Congress. If the President and Congress don't want a Space Program then nothing happens. If the administrator bucks the President then the administrator goes to the unemployment line.
Gary